National Guard soldier killed in I-95 accident identified

Published August 08. 2014 12:47PM | Updated August 09. 2014 12:06AM

A Connecticut Army National Guard soldier who was killed Thursday morning in a two-car accident on Interstate 95 South in Port Chester, N.Y., has been identified as Staff Sgt. Ronald Patterson Jr., 43, of Bridgeport.

Sgt. 1st Class Kayla Anne Downey, 31, of Shelton was seriously injured in the accident and is being treated for her injuries at a local hospital.

Patterson and Downey are members of A Company, 192nd Engineer Battalion, Connecticut Army National Guard based out of Stratford.

Both soldiers served in Operation Iraqi Freedom and received numerous awards and decorations for their service.

Maj. Gen. Thaddeus J. Martin, adjutant general and commander of the Connecticut National Guard, expressed his condolences to the families and soldiers affected.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of Staff Sgt. Patterson and with Sgt. 1st Class Downey and her family,” Martin said. “The full resources of the Connecticut National Guard will be available to the families and fellow Soldiers of Patterson and Downey who have been affected by this tragedy.”

The soldiers, who were riding in a Light Medium Tactical Vehicle, or LMTV, were headed to Fort Dix, N.J., to turn in spent ammunition shells from a recent training exercise. No live rounds were being transported, officials said.

Two additional soldiers were in a military van traveling with the LMTV. The two vehicles had been on the road for less than two hours when the accident occurred around 10:22 a.m.

A civilian vehicle was involved in the accident.

Military and civilian authorities are investigating the cause of the accident.